Face

News about Face, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Aug. 9, 2016

Study in journal Primates reports scientists have observed spontaneous smiles in sleeping macaque monkeys, first time phenomenon has been observed outside human infants and chimpanzees; reason for smiling in monkeys remains subject of debate. MORE

Jun. 14, 2016

Small fish known as archerfish has demonstrated ability to distinguish one human face from another. MORE

Aug. 1, 2015

Internet meme known as RBF, for Resting Bitch Face, is calling attention to women's facial expressions perceived angry or irritated when wearer is simply not smiling; some point out sexist nature of label. MORE

May. 1, 2015

Food and Drug Administration approves injection called Kybella for reduction of fat deposits under the chin. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Scientists are developing tools that allow investigators to create facial image of suspect using DNA found at crime scene; process, known as forensic DNA phenotyping, has raised concerns among some who question technology's accuracy or warn that it could increase racial profiling or lead to privacy violations. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

Op-Ed article by author Stephen Marche considers impact that 'facelessness' of contemporary culture, enabled by social media and the Internet, has on ethical behavior, given that face is central to ideas of justice and ethics in human history; questions how to remind everyone that people they are interacting with, and often harassing, online are actual human beings. MORE

Jan. 1, 2015

Suggestions for several gentle facial cleansers that will not dry out skin during winter noted. MORE

Dec. 26, 2014

Milwaukee Bucks owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry have retained facial coding expert Dan Hill to analyze players and team chemistry; owners were impressed with Hill's work finding college prospects to draft; Hill analyzes facial expressions to make up psychological assessments of players, and while team's management seems to believe in efficacy of method, some experts question whether it is effective. MORE

Jun. 1, 2014

National Security Agency is harvesting huge numbers of images of people from communications that it intercepts through its global surveillance operations for use in sophisticated facial recognition programs; agency's reliance on facial recognition technology has grown significantly as it has turned to new software to exploit flood of images included in communications. MORE

May. 18, 2014

Dr Joseph J Atick, pioneer of modern face recognition, has begun warning that unfettered use of the technology could enable mass surveillance and present dire threats to privacy; industry proponents say benefits far outweigh risks, citing convenience that technology could provide; Atick and his supporters say it could significantly change people's behavior in public when they can no longer rely on anonymity (Series: You For Sale). MORE

Apr. 29, 2014

Comprehensive review of face transplant surgeries published in The Lancet finds that procedure is generally safe and feasible and should be offered to more patients; 28 face transplants have been performed in seven countries since first such surgery was conducted in 2005; endorsement is cautious, noting that operation is still experimental, risky and expensive. MORE

Apr. 28, 2014

Researchers have found that a computer is much better than people are at telling the difference between real and faked pain, a discovery that may lead to methods to detect children’s pain and to treat depression. MORE

Mar. 23, 2014

Gray Matter column by clinical psychiatry Prof Richard A Friedman highlights research that suggests that using Botox to paralyze muscles in the face involved in frowning can help people cope with depression; contends possibility raises intriguing epidemiological question of whether use of Botox for cosmetic reasons may have treated or prevented depression in many people. MORE

Mar. 2, 2014

Gray Matter column by Prof Lisa Feldman Barrett, director of the Interdisciplinary Affective Science Library, describes research the lab has published in journal Emotion that suggests that human facial expressions are not universally understood; contends findings challenge theory that facial movements might be evolved behaviors for expressing emotion. MORE

Dec. 31, 2013

Aude Olivia study presented at the International Conference on Computer Vision reports that researchers at MIT have developed computer algorithm that can subtly modify image of a person's face to make it easier or harder to remember. MORE

Dec. 11, 2013

Dec. 3, 2013

Interview with Col Robert G Hale, surgeon and commander of Army's dental and trauma research department at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio; Hale discusses his work developing new methods, including surgeries, of healing facial wounds of solders returning from combat overseas. MORE

Dec. 1, 2013

Anne Eisenberg Novelties column; companies are developing software to analyze subtle, fleeting facial expressions and to get at the emotions behind them; technology is already finding use in media--to test ads, movie trailers and television shows; face-reading software has much potential, but it also raises many questions about privacy and surveillance. MORE

Oct. 26, 2013

Carmen Tarleton, who was beaten and burned beyond recognition with industrial lye in an 2007 attack by her ex-husband, is adjusting to face transplant she received in February 2013; describes how the operation, which is still an experimental procedure, was both surgically and psychologically challenging, forcing her and her loved ones to get used to an entirely new countenance. MORE

Sep. 26, 2013

Dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons are recommending procedures that add volume to cheeks for a more youthful face. MORE

Oct. 16, 2012

Efforts are under way to expand affective programming, a way of teaching computers to recognize emotions by analyzing facial expressions; some researchers argue that without a grasp of emotions, computers will never reach their full ability to assist people. MORE

Sep. 22, 2012

Facebook promises European regulators that it will forgo using facial recognition software and delete the data used to identify Facebook users by their pictures; agreement comes as Facebook is under pressure from Wall Street to profit from its vast trove of data, and also from regulators worldwide over the use of personal information. MORE

Jun. 3, 2012

Gray Matter column by Joshua A Tabak, a doctoral candidate in social and personality psychology, and psychology Prof Vivian Zayas describes their research, published in the journal PLoS One, on whether people are able to accurately glean others' sexual orientation from mere observation of their faces; asserts that their research is relevant to discrimination policy, particularly regarding homosexuals. MORE

Apr. 22, 2012

Gray Matter column by author Leonard Mlodinow cites research has found that a candidate's appearance, particularly aspects of the candidate's face, plays a large part in whether or not he or she wins an election. MORE

Jan. 31, 2012

More than 900 American service members have been severely burned in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001, typically from roadside bombs, many suffering the unique devastation of facial disfigurement; almost all receive extraordinary emergency care and rehabilitation at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, but many will never have their faces restored; some are finding hope in a program at UCLA Medical Center called Operation Mend, providing cosmetic surgery for severely burned veterans at no cost (Series: The Hard Road Back). MORE

Dec. 27, 2011

Katharina von Kriegstein study in Journal of Neuroscience finds that regions of brain associated with face recognition are directly linked to regions responsible for voice recognition; findings help explain why person with face-blindness may still fail to recognize someone even after they have spoken. MORE

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